No Federally sponsored research funds were used in the creation of the material of this application.
Mid-air Retrieval (MAR) has long been used to recover items returning from space. Both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters have been used to snag a parachute or a parafoil and the load. Improvements have been needed to simplify the overall system and to accommodate larger payloads.
This is the invention of a mid-air retrieval system (MARS) using a parafoil that, with its forward movement, is adaptable to a new method of capture by a helicopter and to the capture of heavier payloads. The invention is a method and equipment for the capture of a line trailing from the descending parafoil by a hook on another line from a helicopter. In one embodiment the parafoil is cut away as the line from the helicopter acquires the load. The force suspending the payload by the trailing line provides an actuation at the lower end of the line to cause a cutting away of the parafoil suspension lines from the load. Thus, the helicopter is unencumbered of the parafoil.
A slider assembly encompassing the parafoil suspension lines can be actuated by the helicopter""s pull on the trailing line to cause a collapsing of the suspension lines and the canopy. This facilitates the handling of the collapsed parafoil by the helicopter and reduces cost when both the parafoil and the load can be recovered.
One objective of capture is that it not place too high a sudden load on either the load support lines or the helicopter. The dangling, trailing pickup line allows gradual takeover of the payload motion by the helicopter.
Another objective of the invention is the elimination of the winch installed in the helicopter for previous MAR methods. With this invention the relative velocity between the helicopter and the parafoil is so low that a winch is not necessary as the load is transferred from the parafoil to the helicopter.
In all cases a line trails behind the parafoil canopy with its ** forward motion rather than above as in the case of a parachute. A capturing hook dangled from the helicopter snags the line. A drogue can be used on the trailing line to give it a more horizontal slope, thus making the line an easier target for capture.
In one embodiment the hook at the end of the capturing line is made up of tines that are controlled to be actuated for a firm grasp of the trailing line.